Helping a Wyoming community expand early childhood center

Capital One successfully provided investment funding for the much-needed expansion of a local early childhood development center in Evanston, Wyoming. The project was fostered in partnership with local institutions, regional nonprofits and public funding to bolster resources for a vulnerable community.

The U.S. Department of Treasury oversees a federal initiative called the New Markets Tax Credit Program (NMTC). Launched in 2000, the NMTC program helps spur growth among low-income communities across the United States by incentivizing capital investment. It offers tax credits to investors in exchange for support of vital projects that benefit local communities. It has since distributed more than $100 million in local investments in Wyoming and created more than 1,000 new jobs via initiatives like Northern Arapaho Tribe’s Wind River Cares Clinic and Red Wolf Child Care Center in Riverton.     

In Evanston, the Evanston Childhood Development Center (ECDC) was overburdened—its preschool and childcare offerings operating at capacity for several years running. Serving 500 mostly low-income children, it had recently raised phase one funds to move out of a temporary facility into something more permanent. However, even after scaling back the project, it still fell short of achieving its phase two goals.

With help from Capital One and MoFi, a regional nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), ECDC will add 7,049-square-feet to the new first phase building. Local residents with infants to children up to 5 years old will now have 100 new childcare spots for essential care. The financing will also bring approximately 25 new jobs to the city, many of which are expected to be filled by single parents.

MoFi worked with local leaders to identify the project as an opportunity to make a major positive impact on a community in need. Capital One invested in the tax credits from MoFi, thereby helping to fund a second phase of ECDC, enabling it to maintain and expand services.

To learn more about Capital One and our commitments to NMTC investments, click here.